Ambleside Weekender "BDW III"

had a great weekend love the run to the pub on friday night
the route was amazing with lots of technical climbing and even more technical downs ,cheers for a top weekend chaps and its good to see you again si,
Lee.

Wow :shock:
Looked like a great day had by all.Great pics ,paticularly liked the house with a view,what an amazingly beautiful place to live,plenty of good trails by the looks of things and nothing too difficult for us less fit yins


Is that velomaniac amongst you :?

bdw 3

a nice cross-network of groups there

pics say it all. good work chaps!

thought i recognised that yella transporter with. a grunty, probably not original, turbocharger

jonnyboy666":3qn39yvc said:

if there is anyone local who wants to show me round on the saturday 13th august that would be awesome!!

Click to expand...

not too happy about missing the 14th, so I may be free on the 13th to guide you through the quarry route, done it three times in 14 months so far.

really great weekend and the GT didn't let me down even though the elastomers in the forks had turned to powder.


good to see everyone again, pics to follow, now where's that damm usb cable

Big Dirty Weekender Report Part Deux

So, under blue skies 15 riders climbed out of the hamlet of Chapel Stile onto a rather rude string of tarmac that certainly warmed up sleepy legs. The road was cris-crossed with running water from last nights deluge but each splash provided a little welcome relief from the sun that was gaining strength.

Punctured Bicycle on a hillside desolate
The Smiths 1983


w4 by Si's photos, on Flickr


w2 by Si's photos, on Flickr

Within 10 minutes we were at the day’s first stretch of off road action. And what a stretch it is. Loughrigg Terrace is one of those great classic Lakeland descents- not as long as you would wish, but fast and twisty with a few tech sections to keep you on your toes and plenty to make an enemy to innertubes. Half way down we stopped to fix the first two punctures of the day; a water bar a few hundred metres before being the culprit. Whilst patches dried we were gifted with stunning views over Rydal Water and the hills beyond.


w3 by Si's photos, on Flickr


w5 by Si's photos, on Flickr

Back underway and straight back into slate covered singletrack- tighter, twistier and more technical for the first half mile before popping out alongside the lake on more mellow terrain. A quick scramble around rocks sloping into the water followed with MrLee deciding to detour through the water’s edge and giving his Seal Skin socks an impossible task!


w6 by Si Jackson's photos, on Flickr


w7 by Si's photos, on Flickr

A short sharp climb and a few gates later we were once again on fast tarmac skirting alongside Ambleside looking for the bridle that would take us back up and over Loughrigg Fell. Too soon it arrived like a towering colossus, granny gears were selected and the next 20 minutes were spent winching and walking skyward.


w8 by Si's photos, on Flickr


w9 by Si's photos, on Flickr

We soon arrived at the summit where another puncture was dealt with and Velomaniac repaired a snapped chain. Now it was time to head back west and down to Skelwith Bridge. Despite a good liberal coating of tourists and hikers, the trial was fast and fun with only a pinch flat for Kaya and a few incidents with gravity tarnishing another cracking section. Or so we thought. Whilst discussing punctures at the bottom of the hill, Vegas noticed a hissing sound. Everyone inspected tyres before RobRC200 announced he had drawn the short straw with a pinch flatted front on his lovely old Pace.


w12 by Si's photos, on Flickr


w14 by Si's photos, on Flickr


w16 by Si's photos, on Flickr


w17 by Si's photos, on Flickr

Mechanicals dealt with the pack set off down the tarmac at speed. Shame as I was holding the gate open for a lovely little bit of Singletrack that winds around Loughrigg Tarn. Never mind, next time maybe!


w18 by Si's photos, on Flickr


w19 by Si's photos, on Flickr

A nice easy section followed along a cheeky footpath that runs alongside Elterwater, only a charity three legged race getting in the way. Within ten minutes we were enjoying ice creams under the shade of trees beside the bridge in Elterwater village.


w20 by Si's photos, on Flickr


w21 by Si Jackson's photos, on Flickr

It was a short stop though as time was ticking on and we had another climb to tackle before lunch. Back in the saddle, tarmac and a bridle took us through a working slate mine and past vast quarries before returning to nature with a steep slog through rooty wooded glades. A short breather at the top before a nice little descent with drop offs for the adventurous, spat us out onto another slate covered and water logged lane with great views of Little Langdale.



w22 by Si's photos, on Flickr

Ever downwards and onto tarmac now for the blast down to the pub for a welcome lunch, the final corner being entertaining as Mr Lee, myself and Harry Crumb rounded a corner at high speed to find a large BMW taking up 80% of the available road. Emergency stops all round and shaking fists from the octogenarian behind the wheel ensued before darting past the car and resuming our battle to be first to the bar.


w23 by Si's photos, on Flickr

Those punctures and the resulting time-loss had cost us dear though. Forming an orderly line at the bar, the clock struck two and the barmaid announced to those at the back would not be getting anything other than soup! This could get ugly. Will there be revolution and bloodshed on such a pleasant day in the sleepy hamlet of Little Langdale?? Will we get those chip butties that we needed to fuel us over the next few climbs?

TO BE CONTINUED

Gutted I had to miss out (bloody work :x ) but glad you all had a good time. Pictures look ace!

Some pics from me....................

Saturday 09-07-2011

....before lunch everyone makes use of the rest stop following the 2nd climb of the day









Cathedral Quarry












Sat Evening light show 7


Sat Evening light show 8


Sunday 10-07-2011

Sun Morning on the camp site, 3 packets of noodles on the Trangia


Pete take the climb on


Pete un beaten goes back for round 2






Job Done


And the rest







adjustment break (no mechanicals here)





Pete makes a big splash...

Thanks for a great ride out on Saturday. Seems like we have some photographers amongst us too, some great pictures thank you.

I so wish I could have come along but in the end circumstances were against me and I even missed the other event I was double-booked for. Looks like a great do

What a good weekend that was, it's just a pity I still have to unpack!
I forgot my camera on Saturday's ride, so this is a bit disjointed. A few photo's thus, beginning on the journey:


All expeditions should begin with a boat trip; it's the law! Note blue skies...


Ten minutes later :shock: and it was like that until bed time.


Almost volcanic sky on Saturday night.




Sunday expedition.
Kaya and Harry Crumb watching the arrival of Beavis.


And Giant One


Coniston Water


Note time travelling Marin: aparantley all this happened in 2007?




ElPedro's Ibis






So thanks to everybody who made it a great weekend, especially Beavis and Giant One for the transport.